The GSMA’s Mobile Connect solution enables customers to create and manage a digital universal identity via a single log-in solution. The service securely authenticates users, enabling them to digitally confirm their identity and their credentials and grant safe online access to mobile and digital services such as e-commerce, banking, health and digital entertainment, and e-government, via their mobile phones. It works by employing the user’s unique mobile number, combined with a unique PIN for more secure use cases, to verify and grant online access anywhere they see the Mobile Connect logo. All operators and online service providers using Mobile Connect have signed up to the GSMA Mobile Connect privacy principles, which is a core pillar of Mobile Connect.

“While email is mostly used as primary contact for accounts and passwords in digital services, apps, websites etc, we have seen that many people in Myanmar are now using mobile number as their primary contact. Many people in Myanmar does not have email address and the first time internet users even does not know how to use email,” said Joslin E Myrthong, Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) at Telenor Myanmar.

He added, “With the growth of mobile penetration, mobile connect is the best way for mass market users to authenticate in online services in convenient way. Wun Zinn being forerunner in Myanmar market has adopted this and we expect more and more apps will adopt this soon in Myanmar which will replace the traditional complicated login for end users and user authentication process for developers.”

Wun Zinn application was introduced to Myanmar readers one year ago. Users can buy the books available, and part of the sales directly goes to the writers and content owners. The E-books are custom-made to cater different mobile device sizes, and users can read comfortably even on small-screen devices. Wun Zinn also makes sure that ebooks are compressed and of small-size so that books can be downloaded even on slow internet speeds, enabling further savings on mobile data costs.

“I'm very excited and pleased to be part of GSMA Mobile Connect with Telenor which will help to solve the challenge of remembering complex emails and passwords in the market like Myanmar. With this Mobile Connect, my customers can easily register and login by using their mobile phones, thus, more user acquisition for me and better user experience for my customers,” said U Thet Lynn Han, CEO of Bagan Innovation Technology (BiT).

As of February 22, 2016, mobile connect is available to 2 billion consumers globally. Since the solution was introduced at Mobile World Congress 2014, 34 mobile network operators (MNOs) have launched the service in 21 countries, with plans for additional launches and trials to follow in 2016 and beyond. Operators offering services based on Mobile Connect include Telenor Group (Bangladesh, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, and Thailand).